When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
